6 Tips on Making Similar Scenes Feel Different

By Janice Hardy, @Janice_Hardy

Novels often use similar scenes to tell a story, but writers don't have to make them all read the same. Here's a look back on ways to keep scenes from feeling repetitive. 

Novels—especially genre novels—often have similar scenes making up the plot, because the protagonist has a series of tasks to complete in pursuit of the goal. In a pulse-racing thriller, the protagonist will find himself involved in action sequences or chase scenes. Romance heroes and heroines will navigate their way through a lot of relationship scenes. Sleuths in mysteries will spend a large chunk of the story searching for clues and speaking with suspects. After a while, these similar scenes can feel repetitive and even predictable.

For example, if there are a lot of chase scenes where the protagonist (or antagonist) is never caught, readers might just assume she won't be and stop worrying about it. Lovers who almost kiss over and over? They won't be the only ones frustrated by the repeated near-misses. But these core scenes are central to these novels, and are even expected by their readers.
Continue ReadingWritten by Janice Hardy. Fiction-University.com